>> Sunday, June 19, 2011

It was indeed my pleasure to attend this review at J Tean Kitchen. I stay really near to the SStwo Mall, but I've never really bothered dining there...I should actually spend some time exploring this place someday instead of eating home-made sandwiches & oats! :P

Some background of the founder

Founder, Mr James Tean or more popularly known as Master Tean, from Klang opened his first concept store on 2nd April 2011, at this SStwo Mall. This humble gentleman has been in the food industry for over 30 years! He has developed many outstanding products, among which are the "Life" brand chili sauce, acquired by KFC & is one of the major brands in Malaysia, & consumer packed "bak kut teh" spices under the brand names "Claypot" & "Tean's Gourmet", which are sold internationally in many Chinatowns across Australia, Asia, Europe, & the USA. *wow*

Back at J Tean Kitchen

The restaurant features a contemporary classic interior - something traditional, yet with a modern touch, in line with the quick-evolving society. The restaurant comes to live with a vibrant mix of white, red, & dark brown colors, giving the usual Chinese-style a modern twist. They even have an alfresco balcony seating with wooden shades & specially designed lanterns to give the restaurant a "Chinese-feel', especially in the evenings when it's lighted up.

J Tean Kitchen's Menu

You'll find tonnes of "bak kut teh" (pork ribs in herbal tea/soup) coffeeshops in Klang where Mr Tean comes from (and he may have grown up eating "bak kut teh"!), but don't be surprised that this creative owner has more than "bak kut teh" in store at his restaurant :)

Here are some of the food that we sampled:

J-Soup (RM4.90/serving)

- Signature recipe herbal "bak kut teh" soup that is individually served with puff pastry over the soup mug -

This is a light snack/dish where no meat is served with the soup, just mushrooms. I found the soup a little too salty for my liking. It was also thicker than the usual "bak kut teh" soup, so I personally didn't enjoy this as much as the pumpkin soup. I would much prefer the usual herbal-infused "bak kut teh" soup instead!

J-Pumpkin Soup (price unavailable) - vegetarian dish

This is a new dish & is not in the menu yet. I reckon it's an experimental dish, which I personally thought was way better than the J-Soup in terms of taste & "texture". It's more creamy than starchy & although some of us reviewers found that the mushrooms didn't go too well with the pumpkin soup, I personally liked it (I love mushrooms!). The soup had mushrooms in abundance! Expect some sweet, creamy soup with some mushrooms for chews, plus lovely puff pastry to dip into the soup. It's best eaten warm & it feels like the type of soup you'll long for especially when you're feeling down/under the weather.

Braised Pork with Buns (RM7.90/serving)

- Three (3) sumptuous braised pork in special thick gravy sauce served with buns -

This is a delectable appetizer. Tender braised pork with its juicy fats in gravy is just yummy! What more when it comes with steamed buns *drools*

Old Favourites Tean's "Bak Kut Teh" - Combi 1 (RM20.90/serving)- Traditional popular Klang bak-kut-teh recipe, stewed with a perfect mixed herbal spices soup. Combi 1 comes with ribs, pork belly, & pig's stomach -
I must say that for a restaurant as such, the "bak kut teh" isn't too bad, especially when it's accompanied by the garlic rice. You can taste the herbs & spices in the soup, but I felt it lacks some "umphh". I think it lacks "kam chou" 甘草/licorice (I didn't know "kam chou" 甘草 was licorice!), which gives the soup a slightly sweetish taste. I still feel that nothing beats the old restaurants/coffeeshop in Klang or KL where the soup is extremely rich with herbs, spices, & tender pork PLUS the oily garlic rice...oolala...I'm a creature of habit :D

Signature Dish: J-Knuckle (RM38.90/serving)- Pre-stewed with our special herbal spices recipe & slowly cooked until golden brown. Crispy on the outside & tender on the inside. Served with salad, potato wedges & our special sauce (choice of char siew sauce/pumpkin sauce/salted egg sauce) -
I felt that the Germans do a slightly better job in roast pork knuckles. The J-Knuckle skin that we had was not very crispy & the meat was not really tender. It was slightly dry & lacking in taste. Although the dish comes with their special choice of sauce, I feel that they could do better on the meat itself, so much so that there is no need for any sauces or dips ;) The 'char siew' (barbecue pork) sauce that we had was alright; nothing very spectacular or addictive...hahaha...I enjoyed the potato wedges & the coleslaw though :)

Signature Dish: J-Ribs (RM34.90/serving)- The finest pork ribs, pre-stewed with our special herbal spices recipe, specially marinated with our special sauce & cooked until tender. Served with salad, potato wedges, & our special sauce (choice of char siew sauce/pumpkin sauce/salted egg sauce) -
This dish is recommended. Lovely pork ribs. The meat was nicely marinated & not dry although it was quite lean. I much prefer this over the J-Knuckle. The next photo says it all :D

- Spicy curry pork ribs that are delectable to your taste. Served with pasta (choice of spaghetti or fettuccine) -

*thumbs up* I actually enjoyed this dish...not so much the pork ribs itself, but the pasta + curry + pork ribs as a whole. Juicy & tender pork ribs with spaghetti instead of the yellow noodles...ah, luxury :)

After having so many dishes, like what Cheng Yi said, we're all falling into "food comma" already...and there were more dishes heading our way... *gulp* I felt stuffed...

Drunken Chicken (price unavailable)

This dish isn't in the menu yet. I'm a great fan of drunken chicken, all because I love the taste of Chinese cooking wine :) J Tean's drunken chicken is actually above average (let's not compare it to home-cooked). The chicken pieces were tenderly bathing in delicious gravy of adequate ginger & Chinese cooking wine. The portion served was also quite generous. The only set back was that this dish tasted slightly too salty for my liking. Master Tean said it's because of one particular chef who somehow prefers salt-ier food (Master Tean has already advised the chef to put less salt, so I'm looking forward to less salty food at J Tean Kitchen!).

J-Pork Burger (price unavailable)

This was pretty good! Instead of minced pork made into a patty, they chopped the pork & made the patty. You'll get to chew onto the nicely marinated pork pieces in every bite. I like :D I felt that the burger could do without the mayonnaise as well. Perhaps "black-pepper sauce" like the McDonald's Prosperity Burger will do the trick! I can't remember if it has black-pepper sauce on the patty...

J-Chicken Burger (price unavailable)

*thumbs up* Tender & juicy chopped (not minced) chicken with burger buns! I like! I'm looking forward to order this from the menu in the near future as well...oh ya, this one was slightly pepperish. I guess by the time the burgers were served, I have eaten so many dishes that my tongue & taste buds just malfunctioned!

J-Oblong Pork Burger (price unavailable)
This, believe it or not, was DA-BOMB! It's probably my favourite among all burgers & rank #2 among all the dishes that I sampled that day. The patty's same as the pork burger, but longer. The best & most brilliant part was the "burger bun" - Deep-Fried Man Tao! Awesome man...the crispy-on-the-outside-soft-on-the-inside man tao that has a slight sweet taste goes SO well with the burger patty. Oh, I can't wait to have this on the menu!!

Must try signature dish: J-Porky Pie (RM19.90/serving)

- Succulent pork in special herbal sauce covered with puff pastry -

This was my favourite, #1, among the MANY dishes that we tried for the day! Why? It's the braised pork belly/肥猪肉! I tell you, "lou qu yoke" (Cantonese for braised pork) with dark sauce & fragrantly sauteed (炒香) DRIED SHRIMP plus belacan gave the simple braised pork in dark sauce an extra dimension - salty, sweet, spicy! It goes well with the puff pastry too! Ah..."heaven in my stomach"....

Tempura Radish Cake (price unavailable)

I give credit to the crispy batter, but I didn't enjoy this very much. I felt that the radish cake was slighlty "floury" - more flour than radish & a little "stiff". J Tean Kitchen served this with mayonnaise instead, but I provided my personal feedback that such a snack should go with sweet sauce (甜酱)/home-made chili sauce instead of mayonnaise.

Melaka Delight? - I forgot the actual name :S (price unavailable)
As I am not a fan of sweet food, this was way too sweet for me. It's gula Melaka with coconut milk & colored jellies & sago. I prefer the next dessert.

Golden Beach Dessert (price unavailable)
Another experimental dish with pumpkin & it turned out better than the gula Melaka dessert! I'm not a GREAT fan of pumpkin, but this was seriously more enjoyable :) The dessert was smooth, just nice in taste (not too sweet for a dessert 'til it "numbs your tongue"), & has some crunchy & chewy texture (water chestnut & sago). Very delightful :)

p/s: Prices of beverages range from RM1.00 for RO water to RM7.90 for a glass of smoothie

PerutBesi with Master Tean

I'm glad to have met this interesting business owner :) Wishing him successful years in this business!

I have been reading your food blog and have really enjoyed it. As a fellow foodie, I have a blog about my quest for the ultimate hamburger, I wanted to share this link and project that I have been following as I think they have an very interesting idea for a short film that will appeal to foodies.

A team of documentary short film makers is making a film about the regional foods which are disappearing from our grocery store shelves. Once, the grocery store reflected the foods and culinary heritage of each region of our country. There was a time that Coors beer was not sold east of the Mississippi River, and Moon Pies only existed in the South. Small regional food companies are being bumped from the store shelves, and we are losing these food traditions.

These are those foods that maybe your grandparents had in their pantry and you refused to eat. Things (and these are real) like mudfish in a jar, sauerkraut juice, and canned snake. They are looking for input on regional foods in your area, like those strange food items on the top shelf that you have no idea how they are used or what to cook with them.

The film will include calling the makers of these unique foods and learning the history and reason behind why mudfish is available in a jar. Then they will have a big food tasting offering volunteers the chance to taste these items and give their feedback. I hope you can suggest possible regional foods or ask your readers. You can learn more about the project on their website http://www.indiegogo.com/10MinuteFilms

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